Outsider's Looks
by Yoruki Hiiragizawa
Summary: A series of short chapters set during the events of ME3 - about the Reaper War, with an occasional insight over the Shepard-Vakarian relationship from various PoVs.
1. Watch the Arms: Friends

**____****Disclaimer:** The **Mass Effect **_realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise._

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**_Watch the Arms_**

Part One: _Friends_

"Oh, shit!" Joker swore before he could control it and sensed – more than he saw it – the exact moment Shepard silently stiffened just a few steps behind him. They'd just gotten through the Apien Crest Relay on the Trebia System and the fight going on around them was, to say the least, _brutal_.

He surreptitiously watched Shepard for a second and, if he hadn't known the Commander for so long, he would never be able to tell just how much the scene before them had affected her.

"Take us as close to that moon as possible, Joker," she ordered as if there was nothing wrong. "And after we deploy in the shuttle, get the _Normandy_ to a safe distance. I don't care if the _stealth systems _are engaged. I rather not risk an encounter face-to-face with the big bad killing machines..." she patted his shoulder lightly and then turned on her heels to leave the cockpit.

"Hey, Shepard," he called before she could leave and saw her look over her shoulder. "I'm sure he's okay."

Her lips twitched just a little as she nodded and, then, she was off. "EDI, tell James and Liara to suit up and meet me by the Kodiak in five."

"At once, Shepard!" came the AI's answer through the speaker just before the door to the CIC closed with a hiss.

The silence in the cabin after the CO's exit was heavy. For a few minutes Joker just shifted through panels while commanding the ship around; just doing his work. After Cortez announced they were off, he took the ship just a little further away, near the orbit of Caelax, and kept an eye on the sensors. All he could do now was wait for them to do their thing and come back.

He didn't know how he could tell it – while the _Normandy_ was a Cerberus vessel, there was that irritating blue holographic interface always watching him, but the Alliance had disabled it – even so, he knew that she was silently watching him.

"What is it, EDI?" he decided to ask just to get rid of the awful sensation of being surveyed, and also to end the creepy silence around them.

"How did you know that Shepard was thinking about Garrus?" the question – and the fact that it wasn't completely unexpected – actually put a little smile on the pilot's face.

"Besides he going back to Palaven being the last thing we heard from him?" he shrugged not sure of how to explain that to the AI.

"Shepard's armor did show some distress and off-readings, but I had not made such a connection..." her voice showed something like unrest and curiosity – what still amazed him.

"Oh, come on! _That_ wasn't even that hard to figure out!" he shook his head. "_You_, better than anyone else, know just _how close_ those two became before we got grounded." Joker added with a bit of irony and some measure of debauch, but then he sighed sobering up at the memory of the planet on fire. "And, even if they weren't an item, he's still one of her closest friends. It's only natural that she'd be worried about him..."

"I see," she said quietly and then fell silent for a few seconds. "So, you are saying that you knew what she was thinking about because... you are also worried about your friend?" at that, Joker actually startled. He hadn't thought of it like that. At the time he just concentrated on how hard it should be for Shepard and on doing – _saying_ – something to comfort her.

"Yeah. I suppose you're right..." he muttered leaning against his chair.

He could only hope they'd be safe and, as it was, he made a silent prayer that _his_ turian friend could, somehow, join them again.

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**A/N:** Hi, there! This is my first English written fanfic, so I hope you forgive any weirdness. This chapter is really, really short, but they might increase as time goes by and I'm feeling more comfortable with the language issue. Next chapters will be on-line soon. Please, Read & Review.

See ya!

**Yoru.**


	2. Talk and Dance: Rhythm

**____****Disclaimer:** The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Talk and Dance_**

Part One: _Rhythm_

Vega pressed his steps and held a swear back, trying to keep up with the Commander and the turian. Despite his previous lithe answer about the atmosphere being a little thin, making it hard to breath, he couldn't actually point out what was wrong and why it was so hard to stay beside them now. He had no problem of the kind before – not when they hit the ground and were swarmed by husks and not when they were fixing the comm. tower...

"Damn!" he cursed, seeing the fireballs that carried the reaperized ground forces they've been fighting since they stepped on Palaven's moon hit the compound where they hoped to find the Primarch. "That sounds bad!"

"Double time it, people! No Reaper is taking this Primarch from me!" the Commander ordered, increasing her pace and making him swallow yet another swear, but this time it was to save his breath. "James, I want you to take point and deal with CQC, but fall back to mid-range if you see another of those big ones..."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am!" he acknowledged stepping ahead of her and taking cover at the entrance of the compound. He heard the Commander say something to Vakarian, though he couldn't make out the words. He was almost certain he heard the turian chuckle lightly saying _'Just like old times!'_ just before they entered hell.

It still took him a few more minutes before he could come up with an explanation to the odd feeling, though.

He'd been fighting ahead of them, pressing their way into the camp when he saw the big monstrosity and fell back into cover, changing his shotgun to the assault rifle in a swift movement. It was then that he registered that the Commander had done the exact opposite.

He felt his stomach freeze and watched in awe as she moved from cover to cover, nearer and nearer to that brute of a monster, unloading her shotgun between covers. Around her, the turian things, husks and other smaller reaper-forces fell to the ground in waves as their heads exploded with precise shots. The _'big one'_ fell shortly before it could reach the Commander.

He blinked over and over again, feeling his heartbeat increase as she danced around the battlefield to a tune he couldn't hear... but Vakarian was clearly able to. He'd seen her fight before, but she never had that fluidity on her movements. He could try and justify it by saying they haven't been fighting together long enough to establish a fighting rhythm, but that wasn't true with the Major and Doc - they had history, too -, but even with them, she hadn't been that... _lethal_.

He woke up from his gawping onto the Commander's fighting style – and went back to shooting things – when a husk dropped dead near his feet. "You alright there, Lieutenant?" the turian asked, sounding slightly amused, as if he knew exactly what had him distracted.

_'I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did...'_

James' last thought before focusing back into the fight was about how long it would take for him to learn how to sing in key with Shepard and Vakarian.

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**A/N:** Yeah, so... some of you might've taken notice that I used "Part One" at the title, despite this being the second chapter. Here's the thing: this was the first part of Vega's PoV, and every PoV will have an independent counting. That being said, Joker's chapters are entitled: **Watch the Arms**, Vega's are called **Talk and Dance**; and they'll have different subheadings.

So, how am I doing?

Good? Bad? Just give it up, already!

R&R, please!

_**Yoru.**_


	3. Taking Names: Alone

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Taking Names_**

Part One: _Alone_

"With all due respect, Sir," Corinthus started, clearly irritated, attracting Victus' attention, "Isn't it enough that the Commander is taking one of our best generals with her," the general pointed briefly with his head to the new Primarch. "Now she's taking our Reaper Advisor as well?" he gazed at Garrus, stern and accusing. "What good could possibly come from you abandoning the fight here to fly around through the galaxy in a _human_ vessel?"

Victus couldn't really blame the General for asking that. He'd also heard the rumors – _hell!_ _He'd wondered that himself..._ – about the nature of the young turian's feelings for the human commander. He'd seen first-handedly the way Vakarian's chest inflated with pride whenever the Commander's name was mentioned, whether it was to defend her honor or to just retell their exploits together.

"Because Shepard's the one person who's been _right_ about this whole mess all around and is the one person who'll have the better odds at terminating the Reapers once and for all," he pointed out confidently. "And finding a way to _definitely stop_ the Reapers, General, is my actual job, not handle strategies and logistics so that we'd barely _hold the line_ on Menae," Garrus' impatience was growing by the minute and showing in his subvocals and, if the situation was a little bit different, Victus would've found the dialogue somewhat funny...

"So you should've prepared us better for what was coming!" was Corinthus' strained answer. And that made Vakarian glare coldly at him for a few seconds.

...but, as things were, the Primarch carefully considered the discussion happening before him. He wasn't really surprised when Garrus announced that he would join Shepard at the _Normandy_, but he did feel a little unsettled by the apparent rashness of his decision.

"I did the best I could with what I was given," the younger turian replied dryly. "Or have you forgotten that, just two weeks ago, I had to argue my way out of having my _Task Force _cancelled because the Hierarchy couldn't afford to _'waste valuable resources in a unit meant to fight a delusion'?_" Garrus caustically quoted the words one of the High Officers had used during the reunion.

Yeah, if things were different Victus would _most certainly_ be laughing. As things stood, however, he was equally amused and ashamed, though. _Amused_ at the sight of this youngster – this reputed _rebel_ – putting up with no crap from a traditionalist like Corinthus...

_'If nothing else, we – turians – raise our children to be sturdy'_ he thought.

...and, _Ashamed,_ for little more than a week ago he, too, was one of the officials who treated the _Reaper Task Force_ nonchalantly. Not as such a joke like other generals had, because, in his opinion, whatever was done to fortify – _update, upgrade_ – defenses couldn't be considered a complete waste – _it was always a sound measure_ – but he still hadn't taken the menace seriously enough.

_'Just like the rest of the galaxy...'_ and, as that thought sunk in, he felt the shame surpass the amusement, just a tad. _'And now we're paying the price!'_

If that thought irritated and grieved _him_, he could only imagine how frustrating this whole situation with the Reapers should be for Vakarian. The rest of them had barely started fighting in that War, but Garrus –_ Garrus and Shepard and the_ Normandy – had been fighting for more than three years now.

**_Uniting these races will take as much strength as facing the Reapers_****.**

Commander Shepard's words gained new meaning as he considered that new alarming fact and looked back at the two men still arguing. Victus breathed in deeply, his mind set and determined to put an end to that quarrel.

"Enough, both of you!" the Primarch uttered causing a change in both men's postures. Corinthus shifted slightly, holding himself completely still; Vakarian's stance, on the other hand, was somewhat menacing. Victus understood that he would fight his way out of that moon and into the _Normandy_, if it was necessary. He held back the urge to laugh. "If Vakarian believes that he'll be of more use to the war effort serving with Commander Shepard, then that's where he'll go." Both men nodded silently: the General because he was a _good turian_; the _Advisor_ because the decision pleased him.

When the Primarch's comm. announced that the _Normandy_'s shuttle had arrived and he'd silently watched as the youngster confidently strode towards the human female awaiting them, he could not control the admiration building up in his gut. Admiration and gratitude.

_'For too long they've been fighting alone – against a galaxy full of scared bureaucrats; against an enemy nobody else believed in. They've been fighting alone and, even so, they've never gave up on us'._

It's time to repay them.

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_**A/N:**_Here we are with the third chapter and the first part from Victus' PoV. Hope you people liked it.

Also, thanks for the comments and the follows. Your opinions are really important._  
_

I'll be seeing you,

_**Yoru.**_


	4. Taking Names: Trust

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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_**Taking Names**_

Part Two: _Trust_

The shuttle ride from Menae to the _Normandy_ was a silent one as the soldiers inside watched the burning planet fall behind through the vid screen. It was a dire silence, but he welcomed it.

Victus was no expert on reading human expressions, but there were some things that translated well enough across species and he soon noticed that grief and hopelessness were sentiments easily recognizable. As was anger.

That was why, even though he had a heavy heart for the necessity of leaving his home behind – leave his men and the fighting behind – he could still appreciate the sincerity displayed by the humans' demeanor. Their sympathy was genuine and he knew that for, just a few days before, they, too, had to abandon their own planet.

_'Survive today to fight tomorrow,'_ he thought and his eyes were curiously drawn to Vakarian, seated beside him, and he didn't fail to notice the look of pain on his face as he kept his gaze locked on Palaven. Garrus' mandibles were flat against his face and his subharmonics were thrumming unconsciously with uncertainty – such a weak sound that was almost hidden by the shuttle's thrusters. Looking at the way the young turian was bearing himself, Victus suddenly realized that up until now – in spite of his decision to let Garrus rejoin the _Normandy_ – he was actually a little wary of his motives.

_'Even if he actually feels something more toward Shepard, the decision of leaving with her clearly was made because he believes it to be the best for the present situation and not because of a whim,'_ he sighed just a little relieved and, at that thought, discretely turned his eyes to the human female seated across from him in the vehicle, and started when he met her trained eyes locked on him as if studying and gauging him.

"Commander, we're docking into the _Normandy_," the shuttle pilot announced and just like that the silent bubble enveloping them had suddenly popped, urging the passengers to move away from the weird stillness that'd temporarily held them captive. Yet, the commander's eyes remained still on her target a second longer – _'A very long second...'_ – before she'd gotten up from her seat.

"Copy that, Cortez." her head tilted in an almost inconspicuous nod when her eyes overlapped with Garrus' as she turned to the door and took her fingers to her ears, activating her sub dermal comm. "Joker, as soon as the Kodiak is secured on the bay, head to the Mass Relay and take us back to the Widow System."

...

When the door opened after the shuttle's decontamination process was concluded, Victus could feel the ship's increasing _momentum_ as it initiated the travel's proceedings even before he stepped onto the hangar.

"Commander, we'll be engaging the Mass Relay in forty. ETA to the Citadel one hour and thirty-five minutes," the pilot's voice sounded through the ship's speakers. "Also, we received a priority message from Admiral Hackett. He's requested a prompt mission report as soon as we can connect to any comm. buoy..."

"Of course he has", she muttered. "How long till the nearest one?"

"We'll be within transmission range of the Trebia Relay in T-minus twenty-five minutes, Commander..." EDI helpfully informed.

"Thanks, EDI," she sighed, turning to the Primarch. "If the circumstances were different, I'd welcome you to the _Normandy_ with a tour, but, as things stand, we'll have to leave pleasantries for later. Priorities, first..." she then looked to Garrus. "Can you help Primarch Victus settle in?" He nodded and she offered him a little appreciative smile, before focusing on Victus again. "We also need to arrange you a working station, give you clearance through our systems and set up a secure connection so that you won't be completely cut off from Palaven while you're here..." she continued and Victus was pleasantly surprised by her quick thinking and the immediate way she started planning adjustments to accommodate him. "I'll have our Comm. Specialist to meet you at the War Room and help you integrate with the systems. Second deck, just past where Mordin's Lab used to be..." she added keeping a steady stare on him and Victus almost jumped when he heard Garrus answer.

"Got it!" her eyes slowly shifted towards Garrus and Victus noticed how her whole face seemed to soften up and – _do humans even do that?_ – glow.

"Now, if you excuse me. I have a report to put together..." she gazed at the Primarch again.

"Of course, Commander." Victus nodded mildly, watching her turn on her heels and leave the cargo hold. The elevator doors closed behind her with an unprecedented thought sneaking around and growing on his mind.

Vakarian's partiality to Shepard had been wildly whispered and spread between soldiers and officers ever since he first got in charge of the _Reaper Task Force_, but was mostly considered a one-sided kind of crush, for, as much as humans are different from turians, they're actually very similar to the asari and, therefore, being attracted to a human wouldn't be completely unconceivable. Now, the other way around...

"You'd like to see your quarters or rather head to the War Room first?" Garrus' question broke his line of thought and the Primarch allowed himself to spend a few seconds considering his choices – even though both men already knew what the answer would be – there were just too many pressing issues ahead of them.

"I'd rather have the comm. link to the Hierarchy patched in before meeting Sparatus on the Citadel," his answer came out unintentionally strained by the diplomatic weight of his new position. Garrus nodded once and turned away heading to the elevator with the ease and confidence of someone who's home. _'Which he _probably_ is...'_ Victus followed and, while they were inside the lift, he couldn't help but comment: "The Commander must _really_ trust you..."

Garrus' face showed an utterly surprised expression for just a moment, before he started grinning, his mandibles wide open. "Of course she does!"

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**A/N:** Forth chapter posted. Just clarifying: I haven't found anything that indicated the Kodiak has a decon mechanism, but I was wondering how do they keep unknown organisms from infiltrating the ship after ground missions and that was about the best answer I could come up with that actually made any kind of sense. So there it is...

Again, thanks to everyone who commented and started following this story.

See ya,

_**Yoru.**_


	5. Watch the Arms: Absurdity

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Watch the Arms_**

Part Two: _Absurdity_

"Maybe something was miscalibrated?" Joker teased the turian trying to get rid of the apprehension he felt.

"You _do_ know who you're talking to, right?" came the snickered jab.

"Yeah, yeah. I had to ask..." he heaved a sigh. "Well, if you see Shepard, ask her to head to the AI core and figure this out..."

"Will do."

His hand hovered onto the comm. button as he considered calling Engineering, but then remembered that Adams was at the AI core door, waiting for Shepard to show up. He suddenly found himself wanting to have Daniels and Donnelly abord the ship. And Tali. He definitely wished Tali was on board.

_'Shit! It is the retrofit tech's fault! I'm sure of it...'_ he clenched and unclenched his hands while reading EDI's last diagnostic log trying to figure out just what the _hell_ she'd been doing before she shutted off. _'This would never happen before those grease monkeys got their eager hands on _my_ ship...'_

It just didn't make any sense for that kind of thing to happen. Plus it'd have to be some really advanced stuff to hit the _Normandy_'s AI as fast as it did so that EDI wouldn't even have time to warn him something was wrong. After everything they went through together, Joker thought it a bit ironic that now – when he finally got used to the AI's nagging presence – she'd die on him.

"And I'd just got her to finally understand my brand of humor, too." he muttered, taking his cap out and running a hand through his hair. "Damn it, EDI! Don't leave me hanging. Give me something here!" he pleaded, startling when the heat diffusion systems started beeping indicating fire on the AI core. "Anything, but_ that!_" he quickly pressed a few buttons to turn on the fire extinguishers.

"Joker, what's that noise?" Shepard's voice came out of the comm.

"Fire extinguishers. It could be electrical fire or... something." he breathed at ease now that the Commander was on it. Whatever had happened, Shepard would fix it.

"Alright, I'm going in." She announced and a second later he saw that the door to the AI core had opened.

He turned his gaze back to the monitors in front of him to check on their approach to the Relay, keeping just a peripheral look on EDI's systems. They'd be reaching the Citadel later than planned because of that, but he was thankful whatever happened to EDI did so before they engaged the jump velocity from the Apien Crest to the Serpent Nebula. God only knows what could happen if...

The data on EDI's monitor started running faster again as her processers seemed to restart.

"Please, tell me you're back on the land of the living!" he said and held his breath waiting for an answer. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally heard her sweet – _huh? Where did that came from?_ – voice again and he was able to breathe.

"I would not have put it on those words exactly, but everything is back in order now, Jeff." her voice was as matter-of-factly as ever and he considered the strangeness of being upset about her lack of repentance. She should be sorry for making him worry that much. But, then again, why he'd care?

"Well, glad to hear it! So... care to explain what the _hell_ just happened on my ship?" he wanted to know.

"I had a little problem with a backup security protocol in the Cerberus mobile unit we picked up on Mars while I tried to sweep it for information over the Protean device..."

"I wouldn't call going offline a _little_ problem, EDI!" he ranted ogling at the surveillance camera and barely registering as the door to the cockpit opened.

"Well, I didn't know you cared so much..." the mocking voice came from someplace behind him instead of the speakers. That made him turn his chair and blink over and over again while looking at the robot – _the _naked_ robot; the naked android with _so much padding – standing before him.

He couldn't help but contemplate the direction – _the deviant direction_ – his mind had wondered off and Joker just _knew_ he was agape, but couldn't quite muster the strength to close his mouth. Certainly he'd go to hell for it. _'On the other hand, I might just be in heaven...'_

"I took control of this mobile platform," she informed him while fidgeting in an odd way, probably still trying to get used to and adjusting to the body. "Is this a fitting body?"

"Hell, yeah!" the answer came out before he could stop it and, at the unusually smug look on EDI's face _– EDI and face in the same sentence:_ _how crazy is that?_ – he forced his mind to reboot and start properly working again before he'd say something really inappropriate. "But, you know, EDI, you didn't have to conform yourself to some kind of feminine ideal just to please me..." he teased her and checked the need to facepalm. _'Shit, serious case of foot-in-the-mouth disease...'_

"Who said anything about pleasing _you_?" Joker was aghast by the flirtatious quip on her voice and the swing of her hips. And the wicked thing only had a body for about five minutes. He was _so_ screwed!

"Ouch! Now you just hurt my feelings," he jokingly replied taking notice of her slightly curled lips. "That could seriously debilitate my performance, you know? I just might need you to stay within visual range to improve my morale..."

"As you say," she shook her head sitting at the co-pilot seat. "I just finished recalculating our trajectory to the Mass Relay. The incident that allowed me to take control of _this body_ has only delayed us in seven-point-forty-three minutes."

"Got it!" he said stealing a glance at her before re-plotting their way to approach the Mass Relay.

After a few seconds of silence he heard EDI start making a noise that closely resembled humming and then she went on with: _"Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy..."_

"Wait. Is that...?" he interrupted her, wide-eyed as his head whipped to her. With an absurdly expressionless face she watched him for a few heartbeats before speaking again.

"That... was a joke."

"Not funny, EDI!" he protested but couldn't help being amazed by the sheer amusement in her voice. _'Damn her! She almost had me there...'_

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**_A/N:_** Hei, there! Here's the fifth chapter. We're back with Joker. I hope you'd liked it.

A little side note here: To those who don't know, the little tune EDI sang there at the end was _"Daisy Bells"_, the same song Joker warned her not to sing before unshackling her during the Collector attack.

Thanks to everyone who are reading, reviewing and/or following this story.

I'll see you all on the next chapter.

_**Yoru.**_


	6. Talk and Dance: Idolatry

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Talk and Dance_**

Part Two: _Idolatry_

James finished reassembling his shotgun and placed it along with his heavy armor. He looked around the shuttle bay and exhaled sharply staring at the empty space left by the Kodiak. He was upset and bored. He'd gotten really pissed off back at Mars when she ordered him back to the shuttle after meeting Doc and really hoped the Commander wouldn't make a habit of leaving him behind now that the turian had joined the ground squad. She'd taken Vakarian with her for _all_ the missions she had undertaken since Menae: both EDI's hot platform's test drive on Sanctum and this _protean artifact_ thing-y not half an hour ago.

_'Damn, I'd like to go to Eden Prime, too!'_ he thought heading to the elevator.

But, well, once he was stuck on the _Normandy_ at lunch-time, he should probably grab something to eat. The elevator stopped briefly at the Engineering Deck and one of the Engineers they'd picked up last time they went to the Citadel stepped in.

_'What was the guy's name again? The one who asked Cortez to look for that fancy booze...'_ he wondered hoping the redhead wouldn't try to start a convers-...

"Hello there." the other said happily – _and of course he wouldn't be so lucky_ – making Vega try to desperately come up with a nickname for the guy.

"Hey, _Islay_! Going to the mess?" he said after a heartbeat, in which he mentally kicked his own ass. He _really_ had to work on that "remembering names" problem. Giving people nicknames was okay, but only when he picked them by choice and not by necessity. _'You'd never see Lola forgetting people's names.'_ he considered, thankful that the guy didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah, though I'm not really looking forward to have that _standard processed garbage again_. At least while we were chasing the Collectors we had a real cook on the ship..." he said, picking up James' interest.

"Wai-... Wait a minute there, _Islay_! You were part of the _Normandy_ during the Collector mission?" the marine stared at the skinny man uncertain about whether he should be excited for having an information source about those days of the Commander's life or be suspicious because of the guy's Cerberus connections.

"Me and Gaby, both!" he confirmed shrugging nonchalantly. "It was totally worth facing some brig time to work with Shepard!"

"You signed up with Cerberus _just_ to work with Shepard?" James's eyebrow went suspiciously up as he stared the engineer. _That was downright idolatry!_

"Damn right, I did! She's always been right, after all!" both men got out when the elevator door opened at the Crew deck and Vega contemplated those last words.

"Hey there, Copeland! How're you doin' Campbell?" _Islay_ greeted the two officers that were at the table.

_'The guy is really fast at getting to know people!'_ Vega nodded to the officers, a little amused as he went to the food container.

"Hey, Donnelly, you must know something 'bout this..." – _Donnelly! _That's_ his name._ – it was Campbell, the _chica_ James used to see standing guard at the War Room scanner, who addressed Donnelly with something like incredulity in her voice. "Is it true the Commander'd gave _that turian_ clearance as_ Gunnery Chief?"_

"Hey! Watch the bigoted tone, _Private_!" James snapped, making the officers in the room instantly shape up. "_That turian_ is _Officer Garrus Vakarian. _The very same turian who served with Commander Shepard on the SR-1 and fought alongside her to take down Saren!" he could be annoyed about being left behind, but it wasn't because of Vakarian's species. "Plus, he also fought beside Shepard to take down the Collectors while the Alliance brass ignored _and_ backstabbed her!" some little part of his mind ironically came up with: _'Talk about idolatry, alright,'_ but he quickly cast that aside. It was still too fresh in his memory the time he'd spent on guard duty outside of Shepard's room – her _cell_ – back on Earth when they should be preparing for war. _Man! He hated politicians!_

The room remained in silence for a few minutes, Campbell's face turned into a bright red and Copeland shifted uncomfortably on his chair, while Vega went back to the task of heating his meal. Donnelly was the first to come around the awkwardness in the mess hall.

"It shouldn't be that surprising, really. That's been Garrus' official role on the _Normandy_ ever since Shepard recruited him on Omega all those months ago." he informed as he seated and shrugged slightly, facing his plate with a sigh.

"What do you mean by _'official role'_?" Copeland asked putting his juice glass down.

"He also was kind of our unofficial XO, back then. At first, Shepard didn't really trust the Cerberus Operative officially assigned for the position." Donnelly lifted his fork and stared Campbell briefly. "She and Garrus have history _and_ he's one of her _closest_ friends, you know..." he grinned mischievously and turned back to his plate – muttering _He's a lucky bastard, that's what he is... – _in an amused tone just loud enough for Vega, who had seated at the chair next to him, to hear.

_'Whoa! What's that?' _For a second Vega just stared blankly across the room feeling there was something _really _odd about that last commentary.

"But what Kenneth really means" they were all startled by Gaby's sudden appearance and Donnelly looked at her sheepishly. "is that Shepard wouldn't take such an important decision if it weren't the best choice she could make, in spite of her personal feelings. Garrus knows the _Normandy_'s weapons systems better than anyone, except for EDI..." the engineer added heading towards the kitchen.

"That is not completely accurate, Gabby..." the AI's voice sounded through the room scaring the hell out of everyone but Donnelly and Gaby, who were obviously used to it. "I would say he knows those systems even better than I do, if the improvements made at the cannons since Officer Vakarian rejoined us are to be taken into consideration..."

"There you go!" Donnelly smiled as that statement from the ship itself closed the issue and returned to eating, leaving James with an unanswered suspicion.

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_**A/N: **_Hey, there! Sixth chapter on. We're back with Vega. I hope you liked it!

Thank you people again for all your support! Please R&R.

_**Yoru**_.


	7. Head-butting: Banter

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

* * *

**_Head-butting_**

Part One: _Banter_

**_BOOM! BOOM!_**

"I can take care of myself, Wrex." the female said dryly, shoving the shotgun back into Wrex's arms after blasting the Cerberus troopers, leaving him momentarily speechless.

"_Women_." said the krogan quickly recovering himself and heading to the Kodiak. He growled at the three soldiers staring at him. The human male quickly looked away, but Garrus and the Commander did nothing to hide their amusement. He'd hear about it later. _Damn them!_

As Wrex seated himself beside the female, he noticed the _marine_ who were now part of Shepard's squad stopping next to shuttle as the Commander herself approached – _pistol in hand_ – those last Cerberus' lackeys that were now profusely bleeding on the ground; Garrus kept himself a few steps behind – _assault rifle still drawn_ – watching her attentively.

"Shouldn't you be out there with Shepard?" he eyed the soldier who just shrugged lightly.

"Scars got her covered," he replied with something like resignation in his voice. "Plus, Lola told me to stay near the shuttle."

"Um," was the only reply the warlord let out as he turned his gaze towards his old friends. Shepard crouched near one of the dying men on the floor, seemed to exchange a few words with him – _weapon pointed to his head_ – and got up again as the subject of her attention stopped moving. There was a distressed look in her eyes as she turned over and started making her way back to the vehicle holstering her gun back at her hip in perfect sync with the turian.

Until that point, there was nothing really out of the ordinary in the scene, but as she approached Garrus and looked up, her steps faltered just so barely that if you didn't know them, you'd never notice anything unusual at all.

"Hmmm..." the old warrior's red eyes narrowed just slightly and, when the two of them boarded the Kodiak, Wrex had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Cortez, we're clear to go." she declared, closing the door and sitting between Garrus and the salarian.

"Aye aye, ma'am." the pilot replied and they soon could feel the _momentum_ as the shuttle ascended.

For a while, there was an almost absolute silence just tampered by the thrum of the engines. As the shuttle exited the atmosphere, things got a little messy when the vehicle made a sudden movement to the left, tossing everyone out of their seats. Wrex got hold of the female to keep her from falling and noticed that Shepard was tossed pretty far away from her seat and would've ended up on the floor if Garrus hadn't caught and pulled her almost to his lap. The turian's arm remained loosely wound around her back afterwards.

"What the hell, Esteban?" Vega grunted rubbing his head where it smacked against the bulkhead and got up heading to the cockpit.

"Sorry 'bout that," the pilot said. "Commander, the starboard motion dampener took a bad hit during the fight, so we'll have a bit of turbulence till we dock with the _Normandy_."

"Copy that," she looked concernedly at the female krogan when Mordin activated his omni-tool to start scanning.

Wrex snarled suspiciously at it. "What's that for?"

"Turbulence interfering with patient comfort." the salarian answered without taking his eyes out of his tool interface. "Monitoring life signs to guarantee health stability."

"Mordin knows what he's doing, Wrex," Shepard informed the krogan who gave her a pointed look.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Shepard." he retorted matter-of-factly.

She rolled her eyes and looked around. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Please, Shepard," Garrus gave her a derisive look raising his browplates and flaring his madibles. "I used to go to ground with _you_ piloting the Mako."

Wrex felt a shudder climb over his hump. "Don't remind me..." he groaned ignoring the Commander's cold glare. "That damn tank still gives me nightmares."

"Bah! That's because you've never went for a ride in the _Death Hammerhead_..." Garrus quivered theatrically.

"Grunt has told me horror stories about that." the krogan mentioned.

"Shepard's ineptitude to drive ground vehicles proved excellent team building exercise." Mordin interjected still flicking with his omni-tool. "Personally suggested application on new STG recruits. Impressive results." Shepard gaped at the salarian with an _'Et tu, Brutus'_ look on her eyes. Vega laughed haphazardly.

"Now, now. Don't be like that, Commander," Garrus nagged her. "Even when you suck at something, you do it _inspiringly_."

"You're such an ass, turian." Shepard gave him a mock punch with a small grin on her face.

Garrus' arm tightened a bit around her. "I'm still your favorite turian, though..." he drawled, his voice getting an octave lower.

"For now. Just keep at it..." she let the sentence hang in the air.

"Ha-ha! I'd watch myself there, Scars." Vega quipped loudly from the cabin.

"Nah! She'd never find another turian as stylish as I am..." he said dismissively.

Wrex guffawed loudly, eyeing the two. "Well, ain't the turian full of it?" he stated shaking his head.

If he were really honest, he wouldn't say he saw the two of them getting together – _because they were, and about that he had no doubt_ – during their hunt for Saren. Sure, they'd always worked well together; he and Garrus were the most frequent squad members taken ashore with the Commander, but the turian then wasn't worthy of a female like Shepard. Not with the awed way he seemed to look at the human, constantly looking for her approval and his ingenuous will to cleanse the Galaxy of all injustice.

Looking at them now, though, the Warlord could see the way Garrus had hardened in the last couple years, he could see the unmistakable deadly warrior of his demeanor, and the sight in front of him – _the evident more-than-just-camaraderie banter and comfortable touching they seemed intent to not acknowledge_ – didn't give out such an odd feeling, after all. He just regretted not being around the two of them when things started to happen to give them a hard time.

The delight he felt for two of his closest friends – _as odd as it might be for a krogan to befriend a turian and a human_ – was overshadowed by his duty to his people. He trusted Shepard more than he ever trusted anyone, but this time around he wouldn't allow her to talk him down on curing the Genophage; there won't be a repetition of Virmire. Plus, once she's in a relationship with a turian, she couldn't be considered a truly impartial part in the negotiations. He needed to be more attentive than ever and could not – _would not_ – allow his judgment to be clouded.

Until his people get the cure they so desperately needed in order to avoid extinction, he should keep his distance – _bantering aside_.

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**A/N:** Hey, there! Seventh chapter is on! Now with Wrex giving us the pleasure of his company! Hope you liked!

Thank you all for the reviewing and fav'ings!

See you, soon.

_**Yoru.**_

* * *

_**Edit: **_July 10th, 2013: just some minor adjustments to character positioning. Sent Vega to the cockpit.


	8. Taking Names: Scale

_****____**Disclaimer:**_ The _****__**Mass Effect **__realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise._

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**_Taking Names_**

_Part Three: Scale_

Victus was still trying to understand how Cerberus figured out something he only learned upon becoming Primarch of Palaven. That such a high level Hierarchy secret could be known by others was an unnerving thought – and its implications were unthinkable – but the unfortunate truth was that he had no time at all to investigate, to find out who were the traitors and, still, he had to make that problem disappear and couldn't trust any top officers to carry out the mission.

That was how he ended up sending his own son to almost certain death.

"Primarch Victus, Commander Shepard has asked me to remind you that it has been almost eight hours since you have last had a meal..." The AI's voice surprised him and made him notice that the War Room was a little emptier than it seemed before. They must've entered the night cycle and only the 'red-eye' personnel – as he'd heard the humans call it – were at their stations. He really hadn't felt the time pass.

"Thank you," he said uncomfortably, still amazed about the many surprises that the ship held. _'An AI of all things. What's Shepard thinking?'_

He gave the console in front of him a last glance, finished typing the message he was working on, and then closed his terminal before leaving the room. It wasn't a big surprise that Wrex wasn't at his station; the warlord had been up and down, checking on the female krogan – Eve, the salarian called her – ever since they've left Sur'Kesh.

As he stood at the scanner on the War Room entrance, Victus felt uncomfortable – unlike Vakarian, he wasn't used to be around so many humans – when the gaze of the guards lingered on him. He had to tell himself not to fidget. He tried to concentrate on the last reports he's received and, on the other hand, had to control himself not to growl out of annoyance.

He knew it was irrational and that the Commander had decided on their course – Grissom Academy, the Alliance's Biotic School, in the Petra Nebula – before they even left Sur'Kesh's orbit, but to tell the truth, he was feeling a little betrayed by the discovery that they weren't going straight to Tuchanka.

He admired her readiness and desire to do everything possible to protect and help others. BUT he also wondered if she'd be able to accomplish what she needed to or if she'd end up losing perspective of the real threat if she didn't start setting priorities.

A war like this, you can't just keep jumping head first into every single mission sent your way. A war like this, there's just no way you'll be able to save everyone. No matter how hard you try.

Accessing acceptable losses was a hard reality in such times.

And as Victus understood it, in order to defeat the Reapers, they needed to build the Crucible. To build it she needed turian support – which he couldn't grant while his people were being slaughtered back home – and the turians needed the krogans' help. So they should be heading out to Tuchanka to cure the Genophage, so that the krogans could help the turians and the turians could help humanity.

Of course he knew that once they reached Tuchanka there would be nothing they could do until the Genophage cure was ready. It would still take a few days –_ A little more than a week, if everything went smoothly_, she'd informed him and Wrex – before Professor Solus could work out the cure and therefore it would be of no use for them to stay just orbiting around the planet.

They would have enough free time and that was one of the reasons he'd even asked her help with the downed ship on the krogan homeworld. And it was true that he hadn't given Shepard enough intel for her to understand just how important rescuing those men would be...

_'And not just militarily, but personally as well...'_ some little part of him insisted on remarking. He hadn't even told her that his own son was the CO for the mission, too afraid that she'd see his request as something personal. Something unprofessional...

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard laughter as the elevator's doors opened to the crew deck.

"Fear me, lesser creatures, for I am biotics made flesh!" he heard Shepard say in what he assumed was a volus impersonation, but she cackled while trying to make the mask's sound effects.

He walked towards the mess hall and was assaulted with the most absurd scene he'd ever witnessed: a krogan, a turian, a salarian, an asari and a human were sitting around the table and chatting as old buddies.

He couldn't control the snort that escaped his throat at noticing how much the scene reminded him of the beginning of those jokes humans were so fond of.

"The guy was completely out of his mind," Garrus slacked his mandibles in a grin. "Just started ranting about being a god and how he'd kill the Eclipse leader..."

"Yes, very disturbing," Mordin nodded. "Yet, interesting set of collateral effects from drug. Wish I could've taken a sample to analyse."

"And what happened to the guy?" Wrex inquired.

"He turned his back to us, Shepard pushed him and he fell face first on the floor," Garrus shrugged.

"Then he decided to take a nap first and destroy the universe later." Shepard shook her head.

"Well, you always did have a knack for end a fight without using your guns." was Wrex's amused reply.

"I say: why waste ammunition?" she shrugged and looked up. "Primarch Victus," she acknowledged him. "Glad to see you came down. I was starting to think I'd have to drag you away from your station by your fringe as well."

"Hey!" Garrus pointedly looked at her. "When did you ever–– "

"_Calibrations_." she interrupted him, mockingly raising her eyebrow.

"Ah, right, maybe I was a little over-enthusiastic," he flared his mandibles in embarrassment. "But you never complained before..."

"Of course, not. I actually prefer it when you're thorough..." her voice had a sultry underpinning that made Garrus dart a quick look in Victus' direction; a surprised thrill escaped him before he could get a grip of his subharmonics.

The asari coughed lightly to cover a smile. "Primarch, why don't you take a seat? I'll get you the rations."

"Thank you, Dr. T'Soni." He sat next to Garrus and looked at the group around the table taking notice of the sudden quiet that surrounded them. _'And that's not awkward at all...'_ he thought and turned to the salarian. Since the camaraderie had been disrupted, he might as well talk business. "How is the development of the cure coming, Dr. Solus?"

"Proceeding according to schedule. Tissues are currently synthesizing. Eve's resting now. Decided to give her some space. She needs the rest." he said and opened his omni-tool to check something and nodded, satisfied. "Excellent! Immuno-boosters working as intended. Also, synthesizing: 47% complete. Will need male tissue sample soon." He pointedly stared the krogan.

"Ack. Just let me know when it's time." Wrex grumbled, pointedly ignoring Shepard's and Garrus's snickering.

"Now, now, Wrex," T'Soni came back carrying Victus' tray and placed it in front of him before sitting next to the krogan. "No need to be grumpy."

"You're lucky I like you, Liara..." he muttered. Shepard and Garrus scoffed, thoroughly entertained.

"Oh, you don't fool me, Wrex," Liara laughed sweetly. "I know that deep down––" and to that Garrus jabbed playfully saying "_Really_ deep down..." knowing exactly what would come next – which the asari promptly ignored before completing: "You're a big softy..."

"I don't know, Liara," Shepard looked at her friend with a blank face. "I think that's just your quarter krogan inheritance talking..."

"You'll never going to let that go, will you?" The archaeologist shook her head.

"Interesting proposition," Mordin interjected thoughtfully. "Though Dr. T'Soni's not the one known for walking around head-butting people."

The salarian's commentary made Wrex guffaw loudly when the Commander bashfully looked away.

"What's that about Lola and head-butting?" A soldier – the one who was on Menae – inquired, walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't mind them, James," Shepard said nonchalantly. "They're trying to demean my image..."

"You head-butted a krogan, Shepard. Don't try to deny it," Garrus grinned satisfied when the Commander's cheeks turned a light pink.

"You're not one to talk, Garrus," she replied and he shrugged.

"That's your influence, Shepard," he smiled at her.

The friendliness between such a disparate group was something that if Victus hadn't witnessed himself, he would've dismissed it as hearsay.

Suddenly every single reassurance Garrus has ever given him about Shepard being the only one who could make things happen started to fall into place and make some kind of sense – a foolishly hopeful kind of sense. _'If only she were able to unite the galaxy the same way she did her crew.'_

"So, Commander," James looked to his CO when he approached the table. "What's exactly the deal with the Academy?"

She looked up, facing him. "They asked for assistance with evacuation and a turian ship answered to the hail."

Victus' subharmonics thrilled with insult, but before he could interject, Garrus kept going in a conversational tone. "But?"

"But their secondary encryption code was corrupted in the message." She let the information sink in before taking another mouthful of whatever she was having.

"So, Cerberus then?" Garrus raised his browplates, his mandibles fluttering in agitation, and Victus briefly wondered how he'd got to that conclusion.

"That's my guess, yes," she nodded.

"You know, I never pegged The Illusive Man as an unimaginative sort..." he snorted and the Commander's lips quirked, just barely. "Is he really using the same trick twice?"

"Yeah. And he's a conniving bastard, that's for sure." She thoughtfully dipped her head for a moment. "We need to assess the threat, and if he's really using that, we need to alert our allies about it..."

"Yeah, it won't do for us to start distrusting each other now," Garrus added in a serious tone.

Victus was slightly taken aback by the implications of their brief exchange. Obviously there was more to the Commander's decision on going to Grissom Academy than he initially thought.

"Our ETA to the Petra Nebula sits around five hours," said Shepard, getting up from her seat and fixing her gaze on the marine. "Lieutenant, I suggest you get some shut-eye. If it's really Cerberus on that station I want you on the ground team."

"Aye, aye Ma'am." he nodded going back to his plate.

For a moment her eyes and Garrus' locked up on each other. "I'll head up to my cabin for some long due downtime myself," she said, a conversational tone on her voice. Garrus nodded, almost imperceptibly – if Victus hadn't been watching, he'd never notice it – and she looked at the others around the table. "James, Liara, Wrex, Mordin, Primarch. I'll see you later."

And with that she was gone.

The silence left by the Commander's departure lasted till the elevator couldn't be heard anymore and James suddenly looked up, a frown in his forehead. "Huh, she forgot you, Scars."

The grin on Garrus' face was undeniable when just a second later his omni-tool pinged. He cleared his throat. "You know, Lieutenant, if you haven't mentioned I wouldn't've noticed it..."

T'Soni had a cough fit trying to hide her laugh. Wrex didn't even bother; and Victus could swear he saw a grin on Dr. Solus' face.

"I better go get some shut-eye, as well." The younger turian waved them all goodnight before heading to the elevator.

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_**A/N: **_Hey, there, people! Sorry for the delay, but I finally beat the crap out of the writer's block that started haunting me while writing this chapter. I really hope you'll appreciate the Eighth chapter.

Thank you very much for all of those who fav'd and reviewed this story.

Please, R&R and let me know what you think.

_**Yoru.**_


	9. Talk and Dance: Snap

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Talk and Dance_**

Part Three: _Snap_

_Tattoos _jumped the window, softening her fall with biotics, and walked towards Lola like a wildcat. The woman had _sexy_ exhaling out of every pore.

"That a teacher?" James lilted to Garrus. "My teachers were never that..." He stopped talking when Tattoos punched the Commander...

_In the face_.

"No, I bet they weren't," was the turian's amused answer as he swaggered his way – _James could swear he'd never met a turian, _or anyone_, with so much swagger_ – to where the two women were talking. "As charming as ever!" he taunted the biotic as manner of greeting and James couldn't help but shake his head. Sometimes Scars had no self-preservation instinct.

"Bite me, Garrus!" Tattoos sneered at him. "Better yet, bite _her_..." she nodded at Lola with a lopsided grin and added suggestively, "Probably how she likes it..."

Vega stopped in his tracks just a few feet away as the Commander and Garrus exchanged a brief knowing look – their stances _almost _a mirrored image of each other: their weight on a leg, the dip on a hip and crossed arms _– _an almost unnoticeable smirk on her lips and his mandibles were fluttering in a way he'd learned to identify as amusement.

_'Whoa! Lola's kinky...'_ his mind helpfully supplied before the meaning of the scene fully sank in. Two heartbeats later he went slack-jawed.

Haphazardly, his mind rewound every moment he spent with the two of them ever since Vakarian joined them on Palaven's moon. He found himself going through their chat on the mess hall not six hours ago, and wondered how it was possible that he hadn't seen it before. It _was _pretty obvious when you knew what you were looking for _– _Wrex's guffaws, Doc's coughing fits and the Primarch's looks seemed to indicate that everyone could see what was going on. _And Scars left the room just a few minutes after the Commander, too._

_'I never thought Lola liked them spiky...' _He shuddered. _'I really _didn't _need to know that...'_

He shook his head, taking the few steps necessary to reach the trio and watched as Shepard opened her mouth to reply to the tattooed woman. Shepard's shoulders tensed and she took her hands to her comm, instead.

"What is it, Cortez?" she stepped aside to talk to the pilot and James found his attention divided between what she was saying and the conversation between Scars and Tattoos. His duty battled his curiosity, until ultimately his curiosity got the better of his duty.

"You looking out for her?" Tattoos frowned, looking at Shepard. "She looks like shit..."

James noticed that, even though the turian was talking to the biotic, his eyes followed Shepard closely. "Well, she _is_ stretching herself thin..." he sighed with a tired note of his own.

The Lieutenant glanced at the Commander again looking for any of the telltales signs of exhaustion the other two seemed to identify, but could see _none_.

"Sanders, this is Shepard," the Commander approached them again. "The students are safe, but the shuttle's a _no go_." And that got them back at attention. She looked at Garrus while listening to what the Academy's headmaster had to say. "A jamming device you say..."

Without any other word Scars activated his omni-tool and started typing a few commands. His tool beeped a couple of times before he nodded at her.

"James, stay close to Jack in case more Cerberus soldiers show up." She didn't even need to say anything before Vakarian fell into place behind her.

James huffed. There it was again.

And James _still_ had it in him a way to get amazed at how there seemed to have a whole set of codes between the two of them that nobody else could hear or understand. Somehow, though, he didn't believe that the _nature_ of their relationship was the reason to that. Not completely, at least.

Actually, if he had to guess, he would say that their own _language_ was somehow older than whatever they had going on. You just needed to look at them now _– when they were perfect professionals and every sign of a personal relationship disappeared –_ to be able to see that.

_'Hell, I even thought the Commander was with Major Alenko..."_ He wondered if the intel _– or maybe it was just scuttlebutt –_ the Alliance HQ had managed to get about that was wrong _too_.

"So, where did Shepard picked _you_ from?" Tattoos asked getting him out of his reverie.

"I'm Alliance; was on Earth with the Commander when the Reapers hit." he explained feeling her measuring look.

"I'm fu– sure that now you bastards are regretting not listening to her before, right?" her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Not everyone on the Alliance doubted Shepard, you know." Vega found himself trying to justify his stand on the whole Shepard situation. "The problem is that most of those who believed her had no clutch to do anything about it." he suddenly felt it was difficult to swallow and decided to change the subject. "So, how do you know the Commander?"

"She got me out of prison." was her blunt answer followed by a wicked grin.

For a few seconds, James just stared, unblinking, at the woman in front of him trying to figure out whether she was serious or not.

"You know," he said heavily, seeing her arch an eyebrow. Every time he thought he was getting to know what Shepard was about, something happened and he found himself back at the start. "You'll have to tell me about that sometime."

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**A/N:** Hey, there everyone! I really apologize for the delay. Had a writer's block and some issues with the planning.

So, our ninth chapter is back to James. Hope you liked it!

Special thanks to '_theherocomplex'_ for proof-reading.

Thanks to everyone who are reading, reviewing and/or following this story. Please, R&R.

_**Yoru.**_


	10. Any Cost: Decisions

_**Disclaimer:**_ The **Mass Effect **realm doesn't belong to me. I'd've found myself a nice turian otherwise.

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**_Any Cost_**

Part One: _Decisions_

**_No honor if the mission fails._** _No honor._ Honor.

For just a heartbeat he wondered if the Commander knew the effect her words would have, but then he realized just how ridiculous the question was. _'She's Commander Shepard, for Spirits' sake. The very Spectre who talked Saren into repenting and killing himself. Of course she knew what to do and say!'_

And she was shorter than he'd imagined.

Tarquin held back the bitter laugh that threatened to escape – mostly out of self-preservation – the mood his men were in, it'd take very little to toss him out of the moving shuttle.

He also wasn't unaware about the effect of Advisor Vakarian's silent presence beside the Commander when it came to quelling the squad. If Vakarian hadn't relieved the Lieutenant of duty, there was little to be done while stranded on Tuchanka without facing court-martial for insubordination and mutiny. That was probably the only reason they accepted to follow through.

_I doubt it was because of my speech._

He wouldn't shy away from responsibility, but it wasn't easy. Being the son of Adrien Victus was enough pressure without a war on – even before his father became the Primarch. He knew he didn't have his father's creativity or ingenuity. He _knew _that and wasn't trying to imitate his father by improvising – no matter what the others thought. He was just trying to accomplish that mission and protect his men the best way he could.

Except, the apparently safer route in this case had damned them, instead of saving them.

And now there were fifteen strong capable soldiers – half his unit – dead because of him. _'How does one cope with this kind of failure? With losing so many people over a mistake? And a foolish mistake at that...'_

"Lieutenant Victus, we're closing in the LZ," the pilot warned, taking him out of his reflections. "There's a lot of activity down there."

He stood up and looked at the monitors. "What do the readings indicate, Nihil? Any idea about how close they are to unearthing the bomb?"

"Hard to say. The numbers don't make sense," said Nihil. "That's really old tech down there." He shook his head. "There's no way to be sure unless we get closer."

"Not an option," He turned towards another soldier. "Marnek, try and hack into Cerberus' comm. channels. We'll need every upper-hand we can get."

The officer in question stared at the Lieutenant for a couple seconds before nodding and getting to work. Tarquin knew Alaris Marnek to be one of the most unhappy with his command between what was left of the platoon and, for a moment, he thought the other would refuse to follow the order.

Turning back to Nihil, he added: "Keep circling the perimeter, but let's not get too close till we hear from the Commander," he pulled out his omni-tool and started reading again on the specs for the device. '_There'll be time for second guessing myself later. Now, focus! There'll be no do-overs, no second chances here.'_

As he went through the data for the thousandth time he couldn't help but wish they had more to go with. That was not nearly enough. Just a navpoint and a instruction manual for an outdated mass destruction device that was planted on the krogan homeworld more than a thousand years ago.

He wasn't really concerned about dealing with the tech. He was an Engineer, after all – which was one of the reasons his father passed that mission on to him – but that thing was ancient. If he went out of commission, they'd be doomed. And that led him to think of something else that was bothering him, though he had tried not to.

The Commander's surprise when he told her about the bomb was not a good sign in the least. That probably meant that she was flying even blinder than him.

Of course he could understand the reasoning for not telling her. It was all on a need to know basis. The bomb's very existence was as secret as secrets could get – how Cerberus found out about it still concerned him and that was one of the reasons he was on this mess, to begin with – but what if Shepard hadn't been able to extract him and his men alive, and never found out about the bomb? It'd be all lost. As things stood now, the chances of success were pretty slim already. He needed her to know exactly what were the stakes at risk, but giving out top-secret Hierarchy military information was high treason.

_'Maybe I could tell Vakarian,'_ he considered, but there was the question of why his father hadn't shared the intel with Vakarian himself. The only answer he could come up with was that knowing about the bomb would put the Advisor on a conflicting situation while serving with the Commander and everybody knew that victory on that war was hanging on the _Normandy_'s success. Either way, he'd be revealing classified information if he said something, but the idea of keeping Commander Shepard on the dark just didn't feel right. _'Damn, dad! What were you thinking?'_

He was stuck between the claw and the fang and couldn't see a way out.

"Lieutenant," Marnek called him urgently, his subharmonics trilling. "Cerberus has reached the bomb, and are attempting to arm it."

"Dammit!" He stood up; his own subvocals dire. "Marnek, any word from the _Normandy_ yet?"

"No, sir," the soldier answered. "Should I-"

The pilot interrupted them. "Oh shit, prepare for evasive maneuvers!" The shuttle tilted to the right and then upwards just as the sound of mortar fire started breaking loose outside.

"Well, now they know we're here, might as well try and get closer." Tarquin ordered the pilot.

"I'm reading a lot of enemy shuttles on that direction!" Nihil contested, not even trying to hide the distressed thrumming in his voice.

And the lieutenant knew exactly what he was thinking. His own thoughts were pretty much the same. _'Two crash landings on the same day would just be fucking great!'_

"Victus," Marnek called him. "The _Normandy_ shuttle is hailing us."

"Patch them through!" He, then, turned to Nihil. His voice stark. "Keep us out of range, but try and get closer to that dig site!"

"Yes, sir."

He turned to the monitor, seeing only static. "_Normandy_ shuttle, this is Lieutenant Victus with the Ninth Platoon. Do you copy?"

After a few more seconds, a distorted face with dark hair showed up on the screen. "We hear you, Ninth Platoon."

"We're approaching the bomb site, Commander," He had to hold out on the bench in order not be tossed out of his seat. "Getting bounced around pretty bad."

"This is as close as we get, Lieutenant," the woman stated. Her voice carried such strength. "Look for someplace to set your platoon down."

Tarquin allowed himself to wonder – for just a heartbeat – how could such a small creature be so commanding before answering: "Copy that."

"Talk to me about this Cerberus bomb."

_'Cerberus bomb, huh?'_ Tarquin had to hold back his scoff.

It'd be so easy. To just go along with that and let the blame remain on Cerberus. Let that human remain in the dark. Let old mistakes remain forgotten. _'Never mind that the human was fighting to protect the galaxy. Never mind that that mistake could cost them their planet.'_

"It's not... Cerberus', Commander," he said at last. He'd probably be court-martialled for that _too_. At the corner of the monitor he saw Vakarian stop beside Commander Shepard and came to a decision. "It's... turian."

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**A/N:** Hi, there! Here I am again with the tenth chapter of Outsider's Looks. Bringing Tarquin Victus into the spotlight. Hope you people liked it.

Thanks for reading, faving, following. Please, R&R.

_**Yoru.**_


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